What's the optimal amount of facebook friends?

The optimal number of Facebook friends has been researched by Matthew Hutson. It is amazing how the Facebook network has grown in the past few years. One of the most popular features that Facebook offers is the â€śAdd as a Friendâ€? option. Many Facebook users desire to have as many friends as possible, so they add everyone in sight. There are, however, still users that will only add a person if they know who they are. Once someone adds a friend, the person who was â€śfriendedâ€? must either accept or deny the friend request. More often than not, even if they arenâ€™t familiar with the person, users will accept friend requests without delay. Many users believe that you are a loser by not having many friends. It is also considered to be a â€śsocial slutâ€? if a user has too many friends on Facebook. Some research has shown that Facebook friends have ranged from 12 to around 902 friends, but there are many accounts that have many more friends than that. The average user has around 302 friends.
I can relate to this article because I have a Facebook account. I have an average of 500 friends, but most of them seem to be adding new friends every day. In reality, I only speak with about a fourth of the friends that I have on my account.
It is very hard to stay focused when Facebook is around. They say in the article that students and adults spend more time on Facebook not just socializing but also looking at profiles and what we call â€śstalkingâ€? each other. Facebook has even outnumbered the amount of users than what MySpace had.
Facebook was created in 2004, and in the year 2007 Facebook reported to have more than 21 million registered members. 1.2 billion pages are viewed each day. Facebook was first created for college students but then expanded to the high school network and other networks in 2005. After research, it is shown that a typical user spends 20 minutes on Facebook and two-thirdsâ€™ users check Facebook at least once a day. Facebook is also reported as being one of the largest websites used on the internet.
Facebook is a big distraction to many students these days because of all the things you are able to do on it. Students lose track of time and sit on Facebook to just look at their friendsâ€™ profiles. Facebook has also become a distraction in class because it is said students that bring their computer to class are either on Facebook, emails, or chat. With these distractions, it is very difficult for a student to absorb any material from class.
Facebook has extended past the normal confines of a userâ€™s computerâ€”it is now available to anyone who has internet access on any mobile or otherwise immobile device. Today about 13 percent of Facebook users can access their Facebook accounts through their phones. There is also a phonebook feature in which it is extremely simple to just look up a personâ€™s phone number on your account. This can and does make Facebook very dangerous, because it is then entirely possible that someone you do not know now knows your phone number, along with your address, email address, work and educational history, etc. It is not completely a joke when people use the term â€śFacebook stalkingâ€?, since actually being stalked is not a laughing matter. Since Facebook has trickled down many networks, a lot of children have created accounts. Imagine a young elementary school child adding an account because it is the â€ścool thing to doâ€?. This child does not know what can happen if they display too much information on their page. This child also probably does not know about child predators and molesters that would love to get a hold on any information they can to feed their sickening habits.
Facebook also allows users to add applications in which you can only view results if you send applications to your friends. Applications are just another way to add more things to your facebook and waste time. With the Facebook chat, it is also possible to view when other people are online. Both of these resources can be extremely problematic, mostly because of the stalking risks I mentioned earlier.
Over time I think Facebook will die down because a new website will take over just like how Facebook took over Myspace. But as of right now, Facebook is one of the number one websites for keeping in contact with your friends.

Comments

Like you, I think that Facebook is one of the most ingenious websites and at the same time very hazardous. However, Facebook has given its users the ability to prevent any identity fraud from occurring. A user can put on privacy settings where they can make it so only certain people (say their friends for example) and have everyone else unable to see any of their important information. When I first got on Facebook, I decided to take advantage of those settings and let only certain people see my profile.
With that in mind, the fact that important information can be distributed easily is very helpful given the safety of oneâ€™s information. If I donâ€™t know someoneâ€™s phone number and I need to talk to them right away, the first place I look is Facebook. On top of that, for mew at least, Facebook is my only way to talk to friends from high school that go to Wisconsin or Duluth and just see how their lives are going.
The theory of whether someone can have too little or too much friends is quite intriguing. Currently I have a little over 200, which is below the average, but is still suitable in my opinion. I think a more unpleasant problem with Facebook is the amount of time that people spend time on it. I am one of those people who checks their profile at least once a day if not more. In spite of this, I havenâ€™t reached the point where I spend time in class Facebook chatting with someone else.
In the end, I think Facebook is here to stay. For the last four to five years, it has become more than a fad; itâ€™s become a way of life.

When I read the article â€śWhatâ€™s the optimal amount of Facebook friends that sloa0064 wrote; I agreed and disagreed with some of the statements you made about Facebook. I have a Facebook and reading about the part that explains about adding a friend related me towards what I and every one of my friends actually do. Even if we know a person or have even seen a person for a second of our lives, I accept them to be my friend. I am friends with most of the people from my old high school but I have no clue who they are; even though we have the same friends in common, I still accept them even If I do not know them.
The part that I did not totally agree with was your opinion on the Facebook stalking. Do not get my wrong you have a good points on how stalking can happen; but I see it as if you do not know how to protect your page from strangers, then you should not have a Facebook or block it from strangers. It is not that hard to block it, there is an application where no one can see your page except for friends or whoever you want to see it. Could a kid in elementary school already have gained the knowledge to develop a Facebook? That is another point that I do not really agree with as well; even though our future is heading up to everything being electronically programmed, it would be hard for a child to do and figure out how to do all of that; young elementary kids not having the mental processes of a high school teen, I do not think they would be so concentrated on telling people what theyâ€™re doing on their statuses and still be playing with toys and video games.
Another part that I really agreed with was teenagers and people using face book while doing school work and homework. It is really impossible to study or do anything when Facebook is around. I always do that and it is a bad habit to have while having to do homework or even hanging with friends; while I am doing those things even if I am not on Facebook, I am signed in Facebook and have it expanded on my laptop just in case if I get bored I can simply look at my computer to see if I have a new notification. It is sad and Facebook is time absorbing so it is relieving to see that information and know that I am not the only one that is on Facebook 24/7. I am even on Facebook right now while I am writing this. I agree with mostly everything you have explained in your position. I wrote my last position paper about this article, so reading the informational data you found that researchers found was very interesting.

When I read the article â€śWhatâ€™s the optimal amount of Facebook friends that sloa0064 wrote; I agreed and disagreed with some of the statements you made about Facebook. I have a Facebook and reading about the part that explains about adding a friend related me towards what I and every one of my friends actually do. Even if we know a person or have even seen a person for a second of our lives, I accept them to be my friend. I am friends with most of the people from my old high school but I have no clue who they are; even though we have the same friends in common, I still accept them even If I do not know them.
The part that I did not totally agree with was your opinion on the Facebook stalking. Do not get my wrong you have a good points on how stalking can happen; but I see it as if you do not know how to protect your page from strangers, then you should not have a Facebook or block it from strangers. It is not that hard to block it, there is an application where no one can see your page except for friends or whoever you want to see it. Could a kid in elementary school already have gained the knowledge to develop a Facebook? That is another point that I do not really agree with as well; even though our future is heading up to everything being electronically programmed, it would be hard for a child to do and figure out how to do all of that; young elementary kids not having the mental processes of a high school teen, I do not think they would be so concentrated on telling people what theyâ€™re doing on their statuses and still be playing with toys and video games.
Another part that I really agreed with was teenagers and people using face book while doing school work and homework. It is really impossible to study or do anything when Facebook is around. I always do that and it is a bad habit to have while having to do homework or even hanging with friends; while I am doing those things even if I am not on Facebook, I am signed in Facebook and have it expanded on my laptop just in case if I get bored I can simply look at my computer to see if I have a new notification. It is sad and Facebook is time absorbing so it is relieving to see that information and know that I am not the only one that is on Facebook 24/7. I am even on Facebook right now while I am writing this. I agree with mostly everything you have explained in your position. I wrote my last position paper about this article, so reading the informational data you found that researchers found was very interesting.

I totally disagree with you Elias Rosas-Lee, I and almost everyone in my grade has a facebook and we're in 5th grade, I look at my facebook 24/7 too...hehe. All of us go on at least like once a day, we dont play with toys or video games as much as you think, and really shut up, you know nothing about children obvioulsy and should be sure of what you think before commenting for everyone to see. Gosh..